Jiang to rebut bid for his removal at press conference

By Chiu Yen-ling / Staff reporter

Mon, Oct 14, 2013 - Page 3

Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) is to counter the reasons given by the opposition for initiating a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet at a morning press conference today, where he also plans to reassure the public about his determination to end the ongoing political turmoil and advance the government’s policy agenda, sources said yesterday.

The move is intended as a response to the no-confidence bid jointly sponsored by the DPP and the Taiwan Solidarity Union on Friday that has put the premier’s job on the line and is scheduled to be put to a vote tomorrow.

The motion claims that Jiang “conspired with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) to start a political battle to oust their enemies.”

It added that the three had violated constitutional boundaries; interfered with legislative operations and personnel affairs; turned the balance of power upside down; and damaged freedom and democracy by illegally wiretapping the Legislative Yuan’s switchboard.

An Executive Yuan official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Jiang plans to call a meeting early this morning to explain the Executive Yuan’s attitude on the opposition’s proposal to Cabinet members and seek their suggestions on how to dispute the opposition’s no-confidence motion.

The premier is then to formally clarify the Cabinet’s stance on the issue to the public in a subsequent press conference, the official said.

Jiang, Vice Premier Mao Chih-kuo (毛治國) and Cabinet Secretary-General Chen Wei-jen (陳威仁) have been calling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators to rally support to vote down the motion, while Cabinet ministers have been contacting members of various committees for the same purpose, sources said.

The sources said the Executive Yuan has good communication with KMT lawmakers and doubted that any of these legislators would support the motion.

According to the Constitution, if more than half of all lawmakers vote to remove the premier, he will be forced to resign within 10 days. However, if the motion fails to pass, it may not be proposed again for another year.

Currently, there are 112 total lawmakers, 65 of whom are affiliated with the KMT caucus.

Since the opposition does not hold a majority in the legislature, several KMT lawmakers will need to support the motion for it to pass.